Engineering in four steps

Engineering, irrespective of domains, is essentially a four step process. The first step is about understanding the problem. Academically speaking, we students are never taught to identify a problem and adhere to it; instead, we are given problems for which answers are there in the prescribed text book. And a beautiful learning process turns into a mindless race of mugging and vomiting.

The next step of the engineering process lies in finding all the possible solutions to the identified problem. According to my teacher– “One solution is no solution!” So, it is essential for the engineer to seek and innovate all possible solutions to the problem.

The third step in engineering is to select one solution from the many possible solutions. This decision making process requires deep analysis and understanding of all the possible solutions. This is where the wit of an engineer lies.

The last step of the engineering process lies in implementation of the selected solution. The best of the engineering colleges of my country at most teach only this last step. This is a collective failure of students and the system. But my fellow engineers should know that engineering, after-all, is nothing but common sense!